P-186: Adverse effects and reasons for switch reported by patients on antihypertensive medications

• Published in: American journal of hypertension 2004-05, Vol.17 (S1), p.102A-102A
• Main Authors: Chen, Kristina, Glass, Daniel, Chiou, Chiun-Fang, Plauschinat, Craig, Frech, Feride, Harper, Ann, Dubois, Robert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anithypertensive Medication in Naturalistic Setting; Patient Reported Reasons for Switching; Patient Reported Side Effects
• ISSN: 0895-7061; 1941-7225; 1879-1905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.03.261

Antihypertensive therapy choice depends upon a patient's clinical characteristics and response to prior therapy. Benefits of therapy are influenced by likelihood of continuation and switching, which may be affected by adverse effects. The purpose of this study was to better understand, in a naturalistic setting, patient experience with adverse events, likelihood of continuation, and switching behavior across different antihypertensive drug classes. An online survey was performed in September 2003 to obtain data from 1,256 patients (23% response rate), 57.9% female and mean age 56.8 ± 14.2 years old, with a diagnosis of hypertension and on monotherapy for greater than 1 month. Patients reported adverse effects, likelihood of continuing their medication, drug switching behavior, and primary reasons for switching if they had previously used different medications. Data were analyzed for 5 classes: angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARB) (n=241), diuretics (n=235), ACE inhibitors (n=258), calcium channel blockers (CCBs) (n=293), and β-blockers (n=229). To increase generalizability, data were adjusted with weights obtained from the NHANES database. Pair-wise comparisons were conducted with Tukey adjustment. Likelihood of continuation differed by drug class with ARB having the highest and CCBs the lowest (P